City Councilman Proposes New Safety Idea In Wake Of Deadly High-Rise Fire

WCBS 880's Rich Lamb Reports

“The initial meat of the bill is to make sure there are communication systems installed in buildings over six stories tall,” Johnson said at a press conference on the steps of City Hall Monday. “To let folks know whether or not they should stay or go in case of an emergency.”

Johnson said it’s a simple fix that could help prevent future tragedies.

“Buildings right now install new wiring for Internet, and cable television and phone systems,” Johnson told 1010 WINS. “It would be really easy to retrofit buildings to include this which could save lives.”

Former FDNY Commissioner Thomas Von Essen said the best advice is to stay in your apartment in case of a fire. He said a PA system may have saved McClung’s life.

“The ability to communicate would allow that fire chief who is the incident commander, the first one to get there, he’d get on the phone and he’d say ‘get out of the stairwell, stay in your apartment.’ Just a simple thing like that would’ve prevented this death,” Von Essen said at the press conference. “When you’re in that panic, I’ve seen how people react when they’re afraid and they don’t always think logically. They really do need some timely advice.”